They called it the California
Trail and it passed through Nevada, mostly along the Humboldt River until
it reached the Humboldt Sink west of Lovelock. It was one of the tougher
parts of the trail as thousands of people trekked to California hoping
to find gold or land. Popular northeast Nevada resting places for the wagon
trains include Humboldt Wells (now Wells), Carlin, and Elko. Sometimes,
when the trail was crowded or over grazed, the pioneers detoured toward
the Ruby Mountains and passed through Lamoille.

Elko's Hot Hole on Bullion Road was one of the
stops, although not the only one where the town would be built. There are
several stories about wagon train animals falling into the near boiling
water and dying an agonizing death. The place was once dubbed the hole
"Chicken Soup Springs," not because chickens drowned and were cooked in
the hot water there but from the combination of minerals that gave it a
peculiar odor.

Hot Hole had a reputation as a travelers stop
for more than one hundred years. In this century, until the place was fenced
in because it was dangerous, it was a popular resting place for those legendary
knights of the rails, the people we used to call bums and hobos but today,
being properly politically correct, refer to them as transients.

Back to the California trail. Those dream chasing
pioneer adventurers in 1850 left oftentimes established homes and farms
to endure dreadful hardships to get to a totally unknown place where they
thought they would find the proverbial Pot of Gold. It was a new experience
for them all. How did they even know what to take on the trail?

Now that's food for thought. The pun is intended.
None of them had made the journey before and they were facing a four to
six month trip. Were there stores available out in the wilds? Sure, there
were a few trading posts scattered sporadically about but their inventory
frequently had big gaps in essentials. It was best to take your full supply
of everything. So, as people do today, they turned to a how-to book.

In an 1850 guide book, the problem is solved.
The items listed are recommendations for one person.

Besides
buying a wagon or two for $85 apiece, add four to eight oxen at $50 each
or a few mules for $75 a head. According to the dreams the person was pursuing,
take a plow or gold washing equipment. Add guns and ammunition supplies,
a tent, shoes and nails for the livestock, clothing, bedding, and utensils.

By now there is hardly room for anything else
but a traveler purchased the following food (remember, this is for one
person): Flour is a must, 130 pounds at $4, 25 pounds of cornmeal, 65 pounds
of crackers, 25 pounds of rice; 80 pounds of salted ham or bacon for $7.50,
25 pounds of venison jerky (Hey! Gotta have a varied diet), 50 pounds of
beans (thank goodness they were headed to wide open spaces) for $3, 35
pounds of coffee for $1.25, one pound of tea, 35 of sugar at $2.00, one
gallon of pickles, and one bushel of dried fruit. They were advised to
take six pounds of salt and pepper.

Add the cost of outfitting (wagon, mules or oxen,
clothing, etc.) to the price of food, the tally is about $400. Add three
family members (food and clothing only) one might have to shell out about
$600 to go on the trip. Hey, $600 doesn't sound bad until you consider
that in today's cash that's about $6,000. Many of those folks mortgaged
their homes and lands, used savings, or borrowed money.

About the fastest time on record, probably by
horseback with pack animals, was 90 days. Most of those going by wagon
took one to three months more of bone bruising torture. Oxen were the most
popular means of pulling the wagon. The beasts were slower but could pull
heavier loads than mules and horses and provided food if they happened
to die. They were also a safety factor. The Indians preferred mule or horse
meat so oxen were seldom stolen or killed.

A count was made at Fort Laramie in 1850 and the
statistics are staggering. In that year 39,506 men passed through the fort.
With them were 2,421 women and 609 children. There were 9,927 wagons, 23,172
horses, 7,548 mules, 36,116 oxen, and 7,323 cows.

A family of four with over two tons of goods loaded
into a wagon was ready for the trying journey to a new land of dreams.
They spent around $6,000 in today's money. A hundred day trip today, staying
in motels, eating at restaurants, and fuel will run an extremely conservative
$10,000 but we can make the same trip in five days and add only $500 or
$600 to our credit cards.

Those people 150 years ago had to have intestinal
fortitude to give them courage and a strong stomach for the food to stand
the rigors of the journey. They had to have a strong belief in their dreams,
perhaps some were even foolhardy. Many didn't make it. Shallow graves
next to the unyielding trail were numerous. Bodies of young and old alike
were left in the desert to be mourned by those who had to keep going.

They reached for a mystic future and had no idea
what fate awaited them if they got there. Whether they were planners, dreamers,
or adventurers, there has to be deep respect for the pioneers who passed
here on their way to who knew what.